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Critically discuss the functions of children's literature
Okonkwo as a protagonist
Okonkwo's unwillingness to change
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In the beginning chapters (Chapter 4) Okonkwo did not have a very good relationship with his two sons. He was a slightly more caring man when Ikemefuna was sick. But when they were assisting him in planting the seeds for the crops all he did was belittle them and make them feel bad about themselves and how they were completing the task at hand. By the end of this group of chapters (Chapter 7), his sons had loosened up to him and seemed to feel more open to how they had been treated. Although how Okonkwo acted was not okay, the relationship between them did strengthen and as he became more proud of his son, specifically Ikemefuna, he grew to like Okonkwo more. The end of the chapter however, showed that deep down the true colors of Okonkwo shined
Okonkwo is a man of action, he would rather settle things with his strength rather than talk it out with the person he is mad at. This is very unsympathetic because not only is he going to use violence towards others, he is doing it just because he can not get his point across with using his words. This quote shows that he does not care towards others emotions because he would rather just fight them than talk it out. Another quote that shows Okonkwo’s unsympathetic behavior is,“He rules the household with a heavy hand” (Achebe 13). Okonkwo is shown to be someone who disciplines where he sees fit, if he does not like what is going on then there might be a high chance that the heavy hand is going to come down onto you. It shows how unsympathetic Okonkwo is because it shows how he might not care about his family’s feelings towards getting hit when they disobey him. His wives are more often beaten, especially Ekwefi, who has been beaten almost to death because Okonkwo was in a bad mood. It shows that he lets his emotions get the best of him and he does not control them very well, he would rather let it all out violently than talking it out with the people that he is mad at. Those quotes show how Okonkwo can be seen as a very unsympathetic person from his
From birth Okonkwo had wanted his son, Nwoye, to be a great warrior like him. His son instead rebelled and wanted to be nothing like Okonkwo. Okonkwo would not change so that his son would idolize him, as he had wanted since his son's birth. He chose not to acknowledge his son's existence instead. This would weigh heavily on anyone's conscience, yet Okonkwo does not let his relationship with his son affect him in the least bit.
This quote shows that Okonkwo is really sympathetic and how he has a liking ness to some children for different reasons. This also shows how Okonkwo is not a heartless man and actually cares for his children. “He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else - with a heavy hand. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy.” (Achebe Ch 4) This shows that Okonkwo even shows sympathy to those that are not related to him. Ikemefuna came in as a prisoner but later ended up becoming apart of Okonkwo's family.
The protagonist, Okonkwo demonstrates his sympathetic character solely to himself, personally, and infrequently not in the eyes of others. During the plotting of Ilemefuna’s death, Okonkwo was hesitant to make the boy aware of his fate and also hesitant to take part in his death. “‘I cannot understand why you refused to come with us to kill that boy,’ he asked Obierika” Okonkwo was aware that the adopted boy from an opposing tribe thought of Okonkwo, not only as an authority figure and high-ranking tribal member/warrior, but also as a father—his father. Until the death of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo continued to show Ikemefuna kindness due to feeling that “his son’s development was due to Ikemefuna.” (Achebe 3...
Before 1925 recordings were made with an acoustical horn that would capture the sound of the musicians in front of it and transferred the vibration to a cutting stylus. No electricity was used. This process was called the acoustical process. In 1925, microphones were introduced to transfer the acoustical energy to an electric signal, which fed the cutting stylus. This electrical process ameliorated recordings sound.
In the essence of his character, Okonkwo evokes sympathy in the reader only because of his many cultural and personal influences. These influences make him a product of society. Due to this he has lost much but also gained much. Okonkwo also thinks he is doing something to help when he may in fact being harming others. He has a conscious and regrets certain deeds. He punished himself after killing Ikemefuna. Therefore, Okonkwo is a cruel yet kind man who evokes sympathy in the reader.
Okonkwo is supposed to be comforting to his children, but instead he hurts them. “Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears, whereupon his father beat him heavily. As for Ikemefuna, he was at a loss. His own home had gradually become very faint and
Okonkwo is “a man of action, a man of war” (7) and a member of high status in the Igbo village. He holds the prominent position of village clansman due to the fact that he had “shown incredible prowess in two intertribal wars” (5). Okonkwo’s hard work had made him a “wealthy farmer” (5) and a recognized individual amongst the nine villages of Umuofia and beyond. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw isn’t that he was afraid of work, but rather his fear of weakness and failure which stems from his father’s, Unoka, unproductive life and disgraceful death. “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness….It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.” Okonkwo’s father was a lazy, carefree man whom had a reputation of being “poor and his wife and children had just barely enough to eat... they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back.” (5) Unoka had never taught Okonkwo what was right and wrong, and as a result Okonkwo had to interpret how to be a “good man”. Okonkwo’s self-interpretation leads him to conclude that a “good man” was someone who was the exact opposite of his father and therefore anything that his father did was weak and unnecessary.
Okonkwo struggled his entire life with his perception of manliness. Societal expectations and norms of power, strength, and achievement were only reinforced and amplified by his loathing for his father's laziness and "womanly qualities" such as compassion, warmth, and cowardice in war. This defiance to become the opposite of everything his father was created internal and external conflict that led to Okonkwo's eventual doom.
was before he died. He hated how his father was lazy and in so much debt. But most of all he hated the fact that when his father died, he was without any kind of title. That was not the man that Okonkwo wanted to become and he was willing to do everything in his power to keep himself from losing his title in the village.
Before Okonkwo’s exile we see him only in one setting, that of the village Umuofia. After Okonkwo is exiled we see him in a different surrounding and set of mind, he also experiences negative events during his exile which makes him want to move back to his fatherland in haste.
Things Fall Apart is an attention-grabbing novel full of violence, aggression, and oppression. Its main protagonist Okonkwo, on the surface appears to be a true tribesman, and a revered leader with qualities that far surpassed many among his clan. However, the physical and psychological qualities of Oknokwos’ character mirrored an individual who was nothing short of a “king like” ruler and conquer. Okonkwo traits of being a self-seeking, abusive, and cold-hearted individual made him a man that preys on the weak and young, and people in general who falls outside of his definition of a man. Okonkwo character lacks many characteristics that represent real strength, disciple, and bravery as his life came to a disappointing demise reflective of the weakness he spent his whole life avoiding. Okonkwo character in all fairness fails to stage some real virtues of a true leader, but rather that of a ruler.
Although the reader feels remorseful for Okonkwo’s tragic childhood life. It is another reason to sympathize with a man who believes he is powerful and respected by many when in reality, he is feared by his own family and that is another reason that leads Okonkwo to his downfall. He started positive, motivated but down the line, Okonkwo treats his wife and children very harshly. When the author mentioned, “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children” (pg.13).
In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo strived to be the adverse of his father; however, his motives were often too radical. For instance, Okonkwo believed that any signs of emotion or affection meant weakness. This caused him to constantly abuse his wives and children, even slaughtering one of his favorite [adoptive] sons because he feared helping would show he cared, and in Okonkwo’s eyes, was weak. Ironically, his father was an inefficient father which Okonkwo became - and in the end, Okonkwo hangs himself which is one of the most disrespectful fates in African
Okonkwo’s masculinity has blinded him to a point where he represses his femininity. This struggle leads to many problems, and eventually to the death of Okonkwo. Bennett explains, “Because of his contempt for unmanliness, he rudely insults Osugo, destroys his relationship with his own son Nwoye, and lets himself be pressured into sacrificing Ikemefuna in spite of Ezeudu's warning”. Also, Okonkwo disrespects women in many ways. “He ignores the wisdom found in women's stories, he frequently intimidates and beats his wives, and he can only relate to his daughter Ezinma because he thinks of her as a boy” (Bennett).